Louis Althusser on Politics and Processes of Filling Promotional Posts

Thulani Zengele; Victor Pitsoe

Authors

Thulani Zengele Department of Educational Leadership and Management College of Education, University of South Africa, Republic of South Africa
Victor Pitsoe Department of Educational Leadership and Management College of Education, University of South Africa, Republic of South Africa

Abstract

Louis Althusser is no stranger to the politics of trade unions. Drawing heavily from Althusser's work, we critique the politics and processes of filling promotional posts in South African schools. We argue that the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) fits the profile of a political Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) and has been enormously successful in securing ruling class hegemony in the education. While the function and structure of ideology is unchanging and present throughout history, our postulation is that, SADTU continues to make a major contribution to the ideological role of the State, and it “normalises” a massively hierarchical society. Notwithstanding the fact Althusser's theories were born of an attempt to defend what some saw as Communist orthodoxy, we find Althusser's work critical and relevant in critiquing the filling promotional posts.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n2p333